All Discussions Tagged 'claims' - Think Atheist2015-08-02T20:36:22Zhttp://www.thinkatheist.com/forum/topic/listForTag?tag=claims&feed=yes&xn_auth=no2,000 Witnesses to Resurrection?tag:www.thinkatheist.com,2012-04-01:1982180:Topic:10896912012-04-01T21:03:13.467ZDave Gibbshttp://www.thinkatheist.com/profile/DaveGibbs
<p>I ran into a string of posts on some discussion section where somebody was arguing with others about 2000 witnesses to the resurrection being proof of its reality. While its not a particularly moving piece of evidence to me, I would like to see an analysis/critique of this claim. I'm having trouble finding a breakdown of it (looking on sites such as rejectionofpascalswager.net) and was wondering if anybody here had pertinent information or could direct me to a source that does.</p>
<p>Below…</p>
<p>I ran into a string of posts on some discussion section where somebody was arguing with others about 2000 witnesses to the resurrection being proof of its reality. While its not a particularly moving piece of evidence to me, I would like to see an analysis/critique of this claim. I'm having trouble finding a breakdown of it (looking on sites such as rejectionofpascalswager.net) and was wondering if anybody here had pertinent information or could direct me to a source that does.</p>
<p>Below are some of the claimant's words:</p>
<blockquote><p>... Christianity is based on the 2,000 eyewitnesses who saw Jesus after the Romans <br/>executed Him, otherwise there would be no Christianity.</p>
<p>The first persecution of the Jesus sect took place not one year after Jesus left Earth, Saint <br/>Stephen, whom Saint Paul, a Pharisee, was present. In this early period, some 2,000 pre-Christians were murdered by the Jewish Elders (many of those 2,000 being original eyewitnesses to Jesus after the crucifixion). Rather than recant their eyewitness testimony that Jesus was indeed resurrected and therefore the Messiah, not ONE recanted.</p>
<p>The 2,000 witnesses to Jesus comes from 1 Corinthians 15:6, "Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep." In Jewish culture at the time, only adult men were counted, so the number does not include women and children.<br/> <br/>The first persecution of pre-Christians took place under the Jewish authorities in Judea. "The early persecution by the Jews is estimated to have a death toll of about 2,000." This 2,000 killed number is not the same as the 2,000 witnesses number I use above, however there is a great deal of overlap between the two figures.</p>
<p>In the same way, if the 2,000 witnesses story were a fabrication of Paul's fertile imagination, <br/>there would have been correspondence between the Jewish authorities in Jerusalem and those Jewish communities abroad affirming this. The Jewish communities abroad would have requested clarification from Jerusalem on Paul's troubling assertions, because if Paul was correct that would mean Jesus was the Messiah. So you can imagine the intense urgency clarification on this point would have held for Jewish communities outside of Judea. The fact that no such correspondence contradicting Paul exists, and there would be IF Paul were lying, is the proof that Paul was not lying. <br/> <br/>The absence of documents, where many should exist on such a critical matter for pious Jews scattered throughout the Roman Empire, is proof that there was no fault in Paul's account. The question of whether or not Jesus was the Messiah, you can bet your life that the Jewish Communities outside of Jerusalem requested clarification of Paul's accounts.<br/> <br/>...the absence of what should be present is also evidence!</p>
<p>No it would not be called delusional, it would be called mass hallucination where 2,000 persons all SAW the exact same thing over a period of 40 days. Since the Laws of probability say that couldn't happen by chance, as usual it is Atheists like you who lack Scientific Reason. Why would that be?</p>
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<p></p> Why is logical reasoning such a useful tool?tag:www.thinkatheist.com,2011-05-15:1982180:Topic:6607122011-05-15T00:35:25.452ZAlexhttp://www.thinkatheist.com/profile/AlexEvans
Most of us here use rigorous logic and reasoning when evaluating the world around us. My question is, why do you think that it's such a useful tool? Why is logic and reasoning (and objective evidence) the best method for evaluating claims?
Most of us here use rigorous logic and reasoning when evaluating the world around us. My question is, why do you think that it's such a useful tool? Why is logic and reasoning (and objective evidence) the best method for evaluating claims?